An American away in England

Month: September 2015

You’ve probably noticed that my posting has slowed down significantly. I think I mentioned it in my last post, but I’ve been thesis-ing pretty hard and not doing much else lately, so I haven’t had a lot to write about here. And since I’d rather not fill this space with fluff just for the sake of posting something, I decided to make my little hiatus official and let you guys know that I’ll be back with fresh, exciting (hopefully), and interesting things to tell you next month when I have more time and moolah to do things I’ve really been looking forward to. I have plans in the works that I’m super pumped about and can’t wait to share them with you 😀 In the meantime, I hope you all are enjoying the last days of summer (in places where it doesn’t rain constantly, like the UK 😛 ) and I will see you back here in October/the fall (my FAVORITE season — YAAAAY!!!!)!!!

My first words, according to my parents, were “Go, go, go!” and I’ve been on the move ever since. Lately though, the globe-trotting’s been put on pause. I’ve been working on my thesis, being the absolute, lazy worst, screaming (so much screaming), and generally trying not to go insane. To make up for the ass-shaped dent in my couch, I’m planning on lots of going and doing in the Fall. In addition to alllll the theatre, restaurants, and chilling with cool people, I want to get LOTS more travel under my belt, both in and out of England. Here are some places I plan on exploring in the coming months (fingers crossed!).

All I have ever heard about Prague is how gorgeous it is, from tourists and natives alike. I’ve also read about some pretty amazing food on offer (and food is, like, THE reason to go anywhere, right?), especially on food tours, which may in fact take up 98% of my visit. Don’t judge me.

First things first — IS THAT SCULPTURE NOT THE COOLEST THING EVER?! Ok…I’m calm now. Promise. Ireland’s been on my list for ages, and I finally plan on taking the plunge this fall. It’s full of nerd things, like the library at Trinity College Dublin (which has loads of interesting exhibitions and rare manuscripts on show) and historical sites a-plenty, but also beer, whisky, live music, and bee-yoo-ti-full scenery. The above photo was snapped at the Indian Sculpture Park in County Wicklow, which is unfortunately only open this year until September 20th 😡 — I’ll just have to go back during the warmer months.

I’ve been reading about Rye recently, and it seems like such a charming town. Some of the buildings actually look like they might fall over on you, they’ve been standing for so long. It’s the storybook version of England lots of people imagine before coming here, and I’d like to see it with my own eyes.

Y’all, I can finally make my greatest Pride & Prejudice fantasies come true! Derbyshire is not only home to the spectacular Chatsworth House (aka Pemberley, Mr. Darcy’s home in Joe Wright’s P&P), but ALSO Stanage Edge (pictured above) where Keira Knightley Lizzie has a sublime moment of introspection among the “rocks and mountains” as the music swells gloriously in the background. Yeah… this is kind of a big deal for me.

Much like Prague, Brussels is one of those cities whose reputation for beauty precedes it. What I know about Belgium can be summed up in four words: beauty, beer, waffles, and chocolate. Do any of those things sound bad to you? Yeah, me neither.

I know next to nothing about Romania, except that it was home to Vlad III (aka Vlad the Impaler), Prince of Wallachia, whom Bram Stoker’s Dracula is supposedly inspired by. Romania is one of those mysterious places that people rarely talk about. I haven’t spoken to a single person who has named Romania as a place they’re dying (heh heh…) to go. But I’m sure it has more to recommend it than a dark history and vampire tourism. In fact, the photos I’ve seen have been pretty stellar. I’d like to see it in person. Despite not wanting to buy into the “scary” stuff, it would be pretty cool to be there on Halloween, amirite?

Chances are, I won’t make it to all of these places within the next few months, but that’s OK. Goals, people!

Have you been to any of these places? Any recommendations?

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Hey, there.

An American, tattooed, monster and art-loving writer living in England.